| TABLE OF CONTENTS 3-4 | AIESEC’s Global President Foreword YouthSpeak Survey 2020: The voices of a genera9on that demands ac9on 5-6 | Electrolux Foreword Shaping living for the Be>er through the voice of Young People 7-10 | About YouthSpeak Survey 2020 11-20 | World View 21-26 | Leadership 27-40 | Career AspiraNons 41-43 | Plan InternaNonal Conclusions An ever changing world: Reflec9ons on youth and the challenges they face in the new normality. 44-46 | Special Thanks 47-48 | About AIESEC
| YouthSpeak Survey 2020 The voices of a generation that demands action.
AIESEC Forewords by Alexandra Robinson
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In 1948, a group of young people in Europe looked around at their socie;es shaped by two world wars. Together, they determine that cross-cultural understanding was essen;al to prevent similar conflicts in their futures. Together, they established AIESEC.
The YouthSpeak Survey, run by AIESEC, is a global insight survey created by youth for youth. As the world's largest youth-led organiza;on, this ini;a;ve is our effort to bring the collec;ve voice of youth to different stakeholders that make decisions affec;ng young people.
In the 72 years since that moment, AIESEC has expanded to over 110 countries and territories globally. Each year, nearly 80,000 young people have the opportunity to go abroad for cross-cultural exchanges through AIESEC or facilitate these exchanges as members of the organiza;on. Today, we have over one million living alumni of AIESEC's experien;al Leadership Development Model.
The survey gathered 24,000 responses at its first edi;on in 2013-2015, followed by a second edi;on in 2016, gathering the voice of over 185,000+ young people represen;ng 197 countries and territories - the biggest edi;on of the survey to date.
In AIESEC, we give young people the chance to see the world because if you can see it, you can start to understand it, and if you understand it, you can start to change it. In 2015, when I was 22 years old, the Sustainable Development Goals' launch united the en;re world behind a set of goals intended to be achieved by 2030. By 2030, when I will be 37 years old, and the young people of my genera;on will be in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, they will no longer be youth. When we talk about the Sustainable Development Goals and youth, we talk about youth cocrea;ng their future. In 2015, AIESEC made a commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals. Since then, we have reached over 300 million people with our campaigns to promote awareness of the SDGs. We have engaged over 250,000 youth through our YouthSpeak Forums and, through the World's Largest Lesson, have ac;vated over 100,000 youth to volunteer in social projects either locally or globally. In AIESEC, we believe that leadership is the fundamental solu;on, and it can be developed in anyone. Despite this, youth are too oXen taught to believe that we don't have the skills or knowledge to become agents of change, especially when talking about something as monumental as saving our world. Age is seen as an obstacle instead of an advantage, and the youngest genera;ons are too rarely at the center of developmental ini;a;ves.
In July 2019, AIESEC launched a new edi;on of the survey, aiming to understand the collec;ve mo;va;ons, hopes, and fears for the future of young people worldwide. Over one year, the survey gathered over 50,000 responses spanning 100+ countries and territories. Today, you are reading the report of this most recent edi;on of the YouthSpeak Survey. We hope this report will serve as a tool for youth representa;on in decision-making and building a youthinclusive future. However, we know that giving youth a voice is just the first step. The work of building a youth-inclusive future begins with listening to young people. However, it must con;nue with meaningful youth engagement, necessita;ng youth organizing, youth governing, and youth-ini;ated leadership. As youth, we aren't wai;ng. Young people join ini;a;ves that support the Global Goals, or, when exis;ng ini;a;ves are not sufficient, crea;ng their own. This is our ;me. Today, more than ever, the world needs young people willing to take the lead. Will you join us? Alexandra Robinson Global President 2019 - 2020 AIESEC
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| Electrolux & AIESEC
Shaping living for the better through the voice of young people. by Lars Worsøe-Petersen
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Today’s genera;on of youth is the largest in history, with around 40% of the world’s popula;on being under 25 years old. The ques;on is, how will companies, governments, and other organiza;ons be ready to welcome this new workforce? The world is quickly changing, and we care about what young people have to say about that and related topics, including the state of the world and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. That is why it has been very important to sponsor the Youth Speak Survey. At Electrolux, we take the voice of youth seriously. For more than 15 years, we have been a proud partner of AIESEC. Through this partnership, our company has welcomed hundreds of young professionals eager to learn and make their impact on the world, and in turn, we’ve provided them a place to grow and develop. With the Youth Speak Survey, we want to understand their challenges, perspec;ves, and what mo;vates them. We want to learn from their experiences, the ac;ons they want to take, and how they see themselves ac;vely par;cipa;ng in the future of work. They are the leaders of tomorrow, and we want to connect with this new genera;on, because when we allow young people to be heard, we grow as a company.
| ELECTROLUX FOREWORDS
It is encouraging that most respondents are op;mis;c about the future; 59% of them believe that society will be befer by 2030, and we agree with this point of view. At Electrolux, our purpose is to shape living for the befer – it’s what moves us to go to work every day, and why we focus on sustainable and enjoyable experiences for our customers and employees. One of the key insights from the survey is that 16% of young people aspire to have a career in a mul;na;onal corpora;on (second only to start-ups at 17%). Also, 43% of the respondents men;oned that for them an important objec;ve is having a posi;ve impact and doing meaningful work. Hearing these young talents’ voice, we are more convinced than ever that they have the will and resources to make a change for the befer together with us. As an employer, we take our responsibility seriously to give them freedom to shape the future and the means to make an impact. We are ready! Our focus on sustainability, diversity, and inclusion show us that we are on the right path, and we have the commitment to keep making a difference. With the Youth Speak Survey, we can understand the youth’s priori;es and be ready to adapt with this genera;on to the challenges and changes that we are facing and will face. We are determined to provide young people with the tools and resources to make the world a befer place. Young people have spoken. Now it’s our turn to listen to #ShapeLivingForTheBe7er Lars Worsøe-Petersen Head of Human Resources and CommunicaNons, Senior Vice President Electrolux AB
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| ABOUT YouthSpeak Survey 2020
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| AIESEC’S YouthSpeak Survey The YouthSpeak Survey, run by AIESEC, is a global insight survey created by youth for youth. Conceptualized as a Global Youth Opinion Survey, the research gathered 24,000 responses at its ďŹ rst edi;on in 2013-2015, followed by a second edi;on, in 2016 gathering the voice of over 185,000+ young people represen;ng 197 countries and territories - the biggest edi;on of the survey to date. In July 2019, AIESEC launched a new edi;on of the survey, aiming to understand the collec;ve mo;va;ons, hopes and fears for the future of young people worldwide. The survey has been open for a one-year period and gathered over 50,000 responses spanning 100+ countries and territories.
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YouthSpeak Survey 2020 | In Numbers
Contributors #1 Top Regions Americas
Middle East & Africa
đ&#x;“ˆ
13.4%
57,480 answers.
Europe
10.5%
30.8% 45.2%
Asia PaciďŹ c
đ&#x;§?
countries & territories represented.
24.79 years
Representation #2 Gender Answers Distribution Other/Prefer Not to Answer
2.5%
đ&#x;Œ?
157
respondent average age. Male
41.1% 56.4%
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Female
| YouthSpeak Survey Blocks YouthSpeak Survey 2020 was focused on three key topics related to youth as follows:
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WORLD VIEW
LEADERSHIP
CAREER ASPIRATIONS
Young people’s views on the current and future state of the world and the 2030 global agenda.
What mo;vates young people and their percep;on of leadership.
Young people’s perspec;ves on their par;cipa;on in the future of work.
| WORLD VIEW World View is all about the perception that young people have around pressing matters around the globe. In this section, we will be exploring the thoughts of youth regarding their expectations for the future, the role that stakeholders possess to change our current context, and the actions they are currently taking to improve their surroundings. At the same time, you can find a closer look towards young people's knowledge about Sustainable Development Goals and how they keep themselves informed about world issues.
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| We asked young people‌
Do you think that your society will be in a be[er or worse state 10 years from now (by 2030)? They said, It will get be#er It will get worse It will be the same
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59% 24% 17%
33,913 answers
Because of the technological advancements.
13,795 answers
Because of environmental pollu6on, poor leadership and corrup6on.
9,772 answers
Because of the wealth gap, lack of ini6a6ves and lack of proper leadership.
| 20.5%
| Who do you believe has the strongest ability to influence society? 5.3% NGOs
of our respondents believe that youth- led organiza9ons are the best way to influence society. This has proven been proven in the past couple of years by many movements such as “Fridays For Future” movement by Greta Thunberg, and The Malala Fund by Malala Yousafzai.
1.0% no one
11.4% private sector 31% governments
| Do you believe that the decision-making process of public policy & legisla;on in the place you live is inclusive and responsive? 13.8% individuals
8.4%
Strongly Disagree
11.5%
14.6% celebri;es
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Strongly Agree
24.6%
Disagree
26.4%
Agree
29% 20.5% youth-led organiza;ons
Undecided
| Who do you think has the strongest ability to make posiNve impact on climate change?
28.7%
13.5%
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16%
18.4%
5.6%
13.8%
2.8%
| Who do you think has the strongest ability to make posiNve impact on gender inequality? 22.5%
22.9%
Youth believes that the government, youth-lead organiza;ons and individuals have to contribute equally to make a posi;ve impact on gender inequality.
21.6%
13.2%
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No One
1.9%
NGOs
Government
Individuals
Youth-led Organizations
Private Sector
5.7%
Celebrities/Influencers
10.7%
| Who do you think has the strongest ability to make posiNve impact on youth unemployment?
37.03%
13.5%
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21.66%
25.22%
5.6%
5.94%
2.8%
| When asked, Only 73.6% out of 57,480 knew about the Sustainable Development Goals
6.5 out of 10
average conďŹ dence of achieving the SDGs. | 17
| We asked youth, What are the SDGs they care the most about…
| Quality Education
| Then we asked, What are the SDGs they are taking acNon towards…
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is the most important goal for today’s youth. They believe that the world will be a befer place if educa;on is accessible to everyone.
| We asked youth, How did you know about the SDGs?
University
Social Media
Social Media
AIESEC
Friends
Friends
United Web Nations
United Web Nations
Social Media
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Blogs
4.99%
5.78%
YouTube
Friends/Word of Mouth
E-newspapers & E-magazines
Magazines/Newspaper/TV
| We asked about,
How do they get the news? 22.88%
17.63% 14.47% 11.87% 10.02%
4.29% 1.76%
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| LEADERSHIP This section will dive deep into this generation's motivations in life, what defines a leader and the importance of creating meaningful relations for young people. Across the answers, we can holistically understand the main drivers to build a healthier and happier life for youth.
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| We asked young people‌
What does leadership mean to you? The most common words associate it with leadership are‌
1.
Help Others
2.
Team
3.
Posi;ve Impact
4. Achievement 5. | 22
Inspire Others
| We asked young people…
Name one person who you consider as a great leader. The top five names were…
#1 Barack Obama #2 Nelson Mandela #3
Elon Musk
#4
Mahatma Gandhi
Luther #5 Martin King Jr. | 23
| We asked youth‌
What are the main moNvaNons that drive you in life? They answered,
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| We asked youth‌
What kind of impact do you believe social media has on the depth or quality of relaNonships? They answered, Highly Negative Highly Positive Negative Positive Undecided
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| We asked youth… Do you feel that you have deep, meaningful rela1onships in life?
NO (16.3%)
NO (23.9%)
YES (83.7%)
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Do you feel that you know how to form deep, meaningful rela1onships?
YES (76.1%)
| CAREER ASPIRATIONS The report's final section covers a pressing issue: What are the current professional aspirations that young people have? Throughout the answers outlined in this report, we can better understand the current needs and gaps that youth is facing to feel better prepared to kick o their careers, and at the same time, the critical factors for them to choose an employer. Finally, this area closes with the thoughts of young people regarding digital transformation and workplace disruption.
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| We asked youth…
How confident do you feel about succeeding in your future career?
| Industries that youth want to work for…
They answered,
Where do you see yourself working in five years? 17%
Business Start-Up Multinational Corporation
16%
Small or Medium Enterprise
11%
Free-lance
11%
Academia/Educational Institutions
7%
Government
6%
Social Start-Up
6%
Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs)
6% 4%
Culture/Art National Foundation Homemaker Sports Other
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3% 2% 1% 3%
| Thinking about your career aspirations
What is the most important objecNve(s) for you?
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| We asked young people,
Which of the following could be main reason for you to leave a role/company?
| 42% want to have a posiNve impact on the world through the work they do regardless of what they do.
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| How would you rate your educaNon for equipping you knowledge and skills you will need in the future?
6.5 out of 10
average conďŹ dence.
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| We asked youth‌
How likely, if at all, do you think it is that your job (or aspired job) will be mostly done by robots or computers in next ten years?
5.16 out of 10
average conďŹ dence.
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| What are your most preferred acNviNes that you believe would be most valuable for you in order to grow personally and professionally?
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| Please choose the top three skills that are in your priori;es to develop and how conďŹ dent you are about them?
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| How would you prefer to learn these new skills?
Hands on Training is the method preferred by many for learning new skills. | 35
| What would make it easier for you to ďŹ nd a job?
Youth believes that having a good internship is important to ďŹ nd the their dream job. | 36
| Which of the listed is the biggest obstacle to perform acNviNes that would be most valuable in order to grow personally and professionally?
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| When selecting your employer,
What are the most important factor(s) to you?
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| Where do you usually look for job informaNon?
17%
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| What are the top three factors that could stop you from achieving your career ambi;on?
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| An ever changing world
Reflections on youth and the challenges they face in the new normality. by Plan International
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On World Views While most respondents share op;mis;c views of the future, it is worth no;ng that the world’s most urgent and significant issues, such as rapid technological advancements, global warming and environmental degrada;on, can and have significantly affected the lives of young people everywhere. The COVID-19 pandemic, in par;cular, exposes the breadth and depth of vulnerabili;es young people face on many fronts. Governments, private sector and individuals, whom many of the respondents believe have the “strongest ability to make posi;ve impact… and influence society”, con;nue to play a huge role in addressing these vulnerabili;es and elimina;ng structural inequali;es that con;nue to separate people into an “us” versus “them” reality. But respondents’ recogni;on of their own impact, as individuals and as members of organiza;ons, in driving change is worth highligh;ng. Young people see themselves as actors in their own rights, working as partners in their own and in the empowerment of their communi;es and in wider spheres of influence. Young people have ar;culated and delivered a bold selfdetermined role as global change makers – it is only now, at the ;pping point that the rest of the world has woken up to this “new normal”.
| PLAN INTERNATIONAL CONCLUSIONS
We congratulate AIESEC for the comple;on of this survey and more importantly, for capturing he diversity, not only of the young people who par;cipated in the survey themselves, but also of their thoughts on what the future holds.
On Young People and their Careers Survey respondents highlighted educa;on and its role in enabling young people to transi;on into the world of work. A degree and on-the-job experiences have been cited as the top 2 enablers, while the lack of resources and opportuni;es have been iden;fied as the main factors impeding personal and professional growth.
| Iris Caluag
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| PLAN INTERNATIONAL CONCLUSIONS
This underscores the importance of strengthening school-to-work transi;ons for young people and strengthening the u;lity of educa;on and in par;cular, market-driven skills development systems. Supply-side market interven;ons s;ll face limita;ons in equipping young people with quality, relevant and market-driven skills for the jobs of today and tomorrow. Conversely, entrenched barriers such as social norms, stereotypes and behaviours, high entry-level requirements and legal restric;ons, among others, exclude vulnerable and marginalized young people from simply accessing opportuni;es that others have, and take for granted. Altogether, what these demonstrate are the need for data-driven and proven programming models co-created with young people and concerted efforts from different stakeholders to foster an enabling environment to address demandside related challenges. Amid the current pandemic, inequali;es have sharpened – especially among young women, young people with disabili;es and youth from minority groups. The latest ILO briefing on COVID and young people reveal that most are locked in informal or insecure employment and have had either lost their jobs or reduced their incomes as a result of decreased working hours. They are also more likely not to have access to social safety nets and are leX in even more vulnerable posi;ons than before. As we begin envisioning and working globally to “bounce back befer” from the COVID-19 pandemic, we have the opportunity now to co-create this future with young people who have already expressed their ability, willingness and commitment to drive change, and to create labor markets that are more diverse and gender equal the likes of which cannot even be fully envisioned. If not, then we know how this story ends. John Barre[ Trew and Iris Caluag, Plan InternaNonal
| John Barrett Trew
| Special Thanks
YouthSpeak Survey 2020 Contributors
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| YouthSpeak Survey 2020 Initiative Supporters and Partners
Premium Presenting Partner About Electrolux: Electrolux shapes living for the befer by reinven;ng taste, care and wellbeing experiences, making life more enjoyable and sustainable for millions of people. As a leading global appliance company, we place the consumer at the heart of everything we do. Through our brands, including Electrolux, AEG and Frigidaire, we sell more than 60 million household and professional products in more than 150 markets every year. In 2018 Electrolux had sales of SEK 124 billion and employed 54,000 people around the world.
Research Partner About Plan Interna@onal: Founded in 1937, Plan Interna;onal is a development and humanitarian organiza;on that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We strive for a just world, working together with children, young people, our supporters, and partners. For more informa;on visit: hfps://planinterna;onal.org
For more informa;on go to www.electroluxgroup.com. | 45
| YouthSpeak Survey 2020 AIESEC Project Team
NOELLE GUIROLA Public Relations Responsible
FRANCO PÉREZ Partnerships Responsible
DAVID LESMES Research Lead
VINURA PERERA Research Support
RAREȘ MAN Communications Responsible
LAURENA ALVES Marketing Responsible
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| About AIESEC
Who we are? Why do we do what we do?
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| About AIESEC AIESEC is a global plaform for young people to explore and develop their leadership potenNal. We are a non-poli;cal, independent, not-for-proďŹ t organiza;on run by students and recent graduates of ins;tu;ons of higher educa;on. Its members are interested in world issues, leadership and management. AIESEC does not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, gender, sexual orienta;on, religion or na;onal/social origin. Since we were founded, we have engaged and developed over 1,000,000 young people who have been through an AIESEC experience. The impact of our organiza;on can be seen through our alumni who represent business, NGO and world leaders, including one Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Maru Ah;saari of Finland.
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